In one of the more overt examples of media bias I’ve seen in some time, the New York Daily News labeled an avid hunter who won a church raffle for a modified AR-15, a gun nut, gun worshiper, and zealot.

Dropping all pretenses of presenting the news in a fair and balanced manner, the Daily News called Stafford a “gun worshiper” in the headline, a “gun nut” within the first four words of their article, and called him a “Second Amendment zealot” shortly thereafter.

An upstate gun nut went to church Sunday and walked out the winner of a high-powered assault rifle similar to the one used to slaughter 26 innocent people at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

But Ron Stafford, 42, an avid hunter and single father of two from Schenectady, said he didn’t see what’s wrong about owning a gun or a church giving away an AR-15 rifle.

“I believe it’s the right of the individual, I believe the church and our God-given rights and our rights to follow the Constitution go hand in hand,” said Stafford, who doesn’t even belong to Grace Baptist Church in upstate Lansingburgh, but made the 25-mile trek from his home for the gun drawing.

“I like to shoot,” said the Second Amendment zealot. “I believe that this shows the will of the people and what this country is all about.

Bear in mind that this isn’t in the Opinion section of the Daily News, it is an actual Local News report.

And if you thought the online version was bad, check out the cover of the Daily News:

The rifle, a SAFE Act and perfectly legal weapon, was raffled off by pastor John Koletas.

Reverend Koletas stated that he is simply, “honoring hunters and gun owners who have been so viciously attacked by the anti-christian socialist media and anti-christian socialist politicians the last few years.”

Meanwhile, Troy Police Captain John Cooney told The Record that his department expected the gun giveaway to comply with the law.

“We recognize the uniqueness of the gun giveaway and expect full compliance by the Church relative to all applicable rules and guidelines attached to the matter,” he said.

Cooney also added, “We balance our oversight with respect of the Second Amendment rights provided to our citizens; the United States Constitution is the foundation of the work we do.”

But according to the media, those Second Amendment rights make you a nut.

About the AuthorRusty Weiss

Rusty Weiss is a freelance journalist focusing on the conservative movement and its political agenda. He has been writing conservatively charged articles for several years in the upstate New York area, and his writings have appeared in the Daily Caller, American Thinker, FoxNews.com, Big Government, the Times Union, and the Troy Record. He is also Editor of one of the top conservative blogs of 2012, the Mental Recession.